Vietnamese-related information on Japan earthquake not yet available

Rescue forces are deployed immediately after the earthquake (Photo: ABC)

Tokyo (VNA) – There has not been any information about Vietnamese casualties in a 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu late on April 14.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka said Vietnamese-related details had not been available by 10 a.m. of April 15.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and the Consulate General are keeping contact with Japan’s authorised agencies to update information.

Vietnamese nationals in Kumamoto prefecture, located in Kyushu Island, can ask for help by calling the embassy via the phone number 080-3590-9136, or the consulate via the numbers 080-3984-6668 and 080-3904-0198.

There are about 1,600 Vietnamese people living in Kumamoto as of June 2015, according to Japan’s data.

By the noon of April 15, the powerful earthquake had killed nine people and injured some 1,000 others in the prefecture, Japan’s relevant agencies said.

About 20 houses collapsed and many people remained under the rubble in Mashiki town, where the strongest aftershock at a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale was recorded.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the extent of the damage is still unclear as the quake happened at night.

Transport in Kumamoto has been blocked by the rubble or due to damaged roads. Operations of the Shinkansen high-speed railway and other trains to the prefecture have been suspended in case of more aftershocks.

Japanese authorities have also warned people of strong aftershocks in the next seven days.-VNA